TSR’s Punter of the Week:
Mat McBriar – Philadelphia Eagles
Who is he?
The 33-year-old Melbourne, Australia native is a proven NFL punter who played eight solid seasons with the Dallas Cowboys. After being cast aside by Jerry Jones in favor of Chris Jones, McBriar landed in Philly. He lost this past summer’s training camp competition for the Eagles job with Chas Henry only to be brought back in late September when Philly cut Henry after a week 3 loss to Arizona. McBriar went to college at Hawaii and is a two-time NFL Pro Bowler. A benign cyst impacting a nerve in McBriar’s plant leg was removed during a procedure at the Mayo Clinic last February. While the Eagles season has not gone well, McBriar has been pretty good since getting the call-back to Philly.
The McBriar stat line vs. the Saints 11-5-12:
Four punts. 178 yards total. 44.5 yards per. 38.3 net.
The punts in detail:
1. The Saints sacked Mike Vick three consecutive plays on Philly‘s first spurt-and-stop drive, setting an immediate tone for the game. McBriar’s first punt came after Vick walked off battered. Standing just inside midfield on fourth and 29, McBriar’s number 1 jersey was untucked. He dons bulky-looking shoulder pads. McBriar appeared wary of the Saints punt rush after the Eagle O-line yielded such glaring early exposure to Vick. He rushed his kick and made contact with the ball just a few inches away from a clogged up cluster of blockers in front of him. Saints wideout Lance Moore was set to receive the punt, his first chance of the season after replacing Darren Sproles on return duties because Sproles is out with a broken hand. The punt landed at the one and a half. The ball kicked up black rubber and sand infill cushion contained in the UBU Speed Series-55-M artificial surface and rolled into the end zone. It was a 46-yard punt. With the touchback, the net went in the books as just 26 yards.
2. McBriar stands a full 13 yards behind the snapper and looks a little fidgety as he waits to launch it. His second punt came with five minutes to go in the first half. Vick was under unrelenting pressure and couldn’t sustain drives. After a low snap, McBriar punted from inside his own 30 and delivered a dud. It wasn’t a shank. It was simply a dud. A 32-yard punt to the Saints 26 and a fair catch by Cadet. 32 and 32. Too many punts like this one will get a punter punted out of town.
3. Nearing the end of the first half, McBriar let a good one rip in the friendly punting confines of the Super Dome. Perhaps the lack of punt rush put his mind at ease. This blast was recorded as a 55-yarder with a five-yard Lance Moore return. It hung up there a while. Unofficially, 4.6 on the hang time. After the play was over, ESPN paid brief tribute to the great sports broadcaster Jim Durham who passed away over the weekend. Durham called Bulls games for a long stretch during my childhood and I have warm memories of listening to J-D on my clock radio. Before the three-point stripe was added, Durham pulled me in with his “need a stop” and “Bulls can cut it to six with a hoop” lines.
4. It gets noisy in the Dome with the Saints on D. But before punts, the crowd doesn’t seem to go as crazy. McBriar’s final punt of the game came early in the final quarter. I noticed Mat flicks his right foot in the air a little right before the punt. A little flex or shake, I guess. McBriar also licked his right hand for grip assistance. Martez Wilson of the Saints put a juke move on Riley Cooper while rushing in from the left end and nearly blocked McBriar‘s punt. Wilson probably would clubbed it clean had he dove for the pigskin. This is yet another example of Philly’s extreme deficiency in the protection element of the game. The 45-yard punt was not returned by Lance Moore. 45-yards on the net.
The Sound of a Punt:
70-year-old Merrill Reese is the play-by-play man on Eagles radio broadcasts. He’s held the job since 1977. Reese gets a little cranky when the Eagles aren’t playing well and he moaned quite a bit during the call of this game. You get a feel for his outwardly expressed level of aggravation in this call of McBriar’s third punt. The game was carried in Philly on WIP-FM.
The Punt-osis:
McBriar finds himself at the crossroads of his fine career. The circumstances of his release by the Eagles in training camp (and subsequent return) are a bit mysterious but there have been reports that it was about money, his holding skills on field goals or lingering problems related to the cyst removal. McBriar is in a bit of a tough spot given the ineffectiveness of Philly’s blocking and the uncertainty of Andy Reid’s regime going into next season. But if he can regain the consistent, injury-free form that kept him in Big D for so long, he ought to stick around in this league for some time to come. His first taste of the carousel whirl so often experienced by punters is six weeks in the rear view now. I’m rooting for him, for sure.
Next week’s Punter of the Week:
Chris Kluwe – Minnesota Vikings